Plan to privatize seaport operator opposed
<p>Plan to privatize seaport operator opposed</p><p> JAKARTA (JP): Three business associations called on the
government on Friday to cancel plans to privatize seaport
operator PT Pelindo II and its affiliates.</p><p>The Indonesian Importers Association, the Federation of
Indonesian Exporters and the Indonesian Textile Association
stated that the privatization of Pelindo would benefit only
investors while burdening port users with higher tariffs.</p><p>The chairman of the importers association, Amirudin Saud, said
the three associations submitted their letter to President B.J.
Habibie and State Minister of the Empowerment of State
Enterprises Tanri Abeng.</p><p>"We want the government to cancel the privatization of
Pelindo. We will fight for that," he said.</p><p>Pelindo II operates the country's busiest port, Tanjung Priok
in North Jakarta,</p><p>Amirudin contends that ports are vital infrastructure for the
country's economy and therefore the government should continue to
manage ports through Pelindo.</p><p>The government should not turn Pelindo into a profit-oriented
company by inviting strategic investors into the company,
according to Amirudin.</p><p>"Foreign investors who invest here want huge profits from
their investments. To achieve this, they will raise all the
tariffs," he said.</p><p>The secretary-general of the exporters association, Toto
Dirgantoro, said the existing tariffs at the port were already
burdensome for both exporters and importers.</p><p>Any increase in port tariffs will eventually affect
Indonesia's international trade, he stated.</p><p>"So we urge the government to cancel the privatization of
Pelindo," he added.</p><p>Six foreign shipping companies and port operators have
submitted bids to purchase between 49 percent and 51 percent of
the newly established PT Jakarta International Container Terminal
(JICT), an affiliate of state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II.</p><p>The six bidders are Denmark's A.P. Moller Group, which
operates Maersk Lines; Grosbeak PTE Ltd., which is a unit of Hong
Kong's Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate; Australia's P&O Ports;
Stevedoring Services of America, which has business ties with
local shipping company PT Samudera Indonesia; Taiwan's Peony
Investment S.A., a unit of the Evergreen Group; and the
Philippines' International Container Terminal Services Inc.</p><p>JICT, which operates two container terminals with a total
capacity of 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units in Tanjung
Priok, accounted for 50 percent of Pelindo's Rp 200 billion
(US$23.5 million at the current exchange rate) in profits in
1997.</p><p>Seaport operator PT Pelindo II is one of five state-owned
companies to be privatized by the government by the end of the
current fiscal year ending in March 1999.</p><p>The government, which successfully privatized cement maker PT
Semen Gresik last year, initially planned to raise some $1.5
billion by privatizing 12 state-owned companies during the
current fiscal year, but scaled the number down to six companies
because of the bearishness of the country's battered financial
market. (aly)</p>
government on Friday to cancel plans to privatize seaport
operator PT Pelindo II and its affiliates.</p><p>The Indonesian Importers Association, the Federation of
Indonesian Exporters and the Indonesian Textile Association
stated that the privatization of Pelindo would benefit only
investors while burdening port users with higher tariffs.</p><p>The chairman of the importers association, Amirudin Saud, said
the three associations submitted their letter to President B.J.
Habibie and State Minister of the Empowerment of State
Enterprises Tanri Abeng.</p><p>"We want the government to cancel the privatization of
Pelindo. We will fight for that," he said.</p><p>Pelindo II operates the country's busiest port, Tanjung Priok
in North Jakarta,</p><p>Amirudin contends that ports are vital infrastructure for the
country's economy and therefore the government should continue to
manage ports through Pelindo.</p><p>The government should not turn Pelindo into a profit-oriented
company by inviting strategic investors into the company,
according to Amirudin.</p><p>"Foreign investors who invest here want huge profits from
their investments. To achieve this, they will raise all the
tariffs," he said.</p><p>The secretary-general of the exporters association, Toto
Dirgantoro, said the existing tariffs at the port were already
burdensome for both exporters and importers.</p><p>Any increase in port tariffs will eventually affect
Indonesia's international trade, he stated.</p><p>"So we urge the government to cancel the privatization of
Pelindo," he added.</p><p>Six foreign shipping companies and port operators have
submitted bids to purchase between 49 percent and 51 percent of
the newly established PT Jakarta International Container Terminal
(JICT), an affiliate of state-owned port operator PT Pelindo II.</p><p>The six bidders are Denmark's A.P. Moller Group, which
operates Maersk Lines; Grosbeak PTE Ltd., which is a unit of Hong
Kong's Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate; Australia's P&O Ports;
Stevedoring Services of America, which has business ties with
local shipping company PT Samudera Indonesia; Taiwan's Peony
Investment S.A., a unit of the Evergreen Group; and the
Philippines' International Container Terminal Services Inc.</p><p>JICT, which operates two container terminals with a total
capacity of 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units in Tanjung
Priok, accounted for 50 percent of Pelindo's Rp 200 billion
(US$23.5 million at the current exchange rate) in profits in
1997.</p><p>Seaport operator PT Pelindo II is one of five state-owned
companies to be privatized by the government by the end of the
current fiscal year ending in March 1999.</p><p>The government, which successfully privatized cement maker PT
Semen Gresik last year, initially planned to raise some $1.5
billion by privatizing 12 state-owned companies during the
current fiscal year, but scaled the number down to six companies
because of the bearishness of the country's battered financial
market. (aly)</p>